Why is it important to work on your posture?
With good posture, all the muscles in the body work optimally, the limbs move through a full range of motion without restriction, and the weight of the body is placed over the feet, providing ideal balance.
When posture deteriorates, the body develops imbalance: some muscles shorten, others weaken and lengthen. Over time, the new position is fixed by a network of fascia – connective tissue that surrounds and permeates all muscles and organs.
The body starts working ineffective, the load on ligaments, tendons and muscles increases, and the sense of balance deteriorates. Over time, the structures wear down, limiting range of motion and causing pain.
Moreover, posture can affect a person’s mental state. For example, in one study discoveredthat a more even back position reduces the level of fatigue, anxiety and depression and improves the overall emotional state.
How posture exercises work
Exercises from our list apply in yoga and physiotherapy to relieve back and neck pain and improve posture.
First of all, they are aimed at strengthening the body. Strong muscles will keep your back straight and your shoulders back, without allowing your neck to protrude or your lower back to sag excessively. At the same time, the movements will help stretch tight and shortened muscles that cause you to slouch or tilt your pelvis forward.
Posture exercises are suitable for all fitness levels and are safe for healthy people.
If you suffer from osteoarthritis, bulging and herniated discs, pinched nerves, fibromyalgia, muscle and ligament injuries and other musculoskeletal problems, consult with your doctor before performing exercises and exercise under the supervision of a trainer.
What exercises to do for posture?
This set of posture exercises will take about 10 minutes. To complete this you only need a mat.
1. Lying pelvic tilt
This exercise is used to relieve back pain, helps strengthen the abdominal muscles and correct excessive arching in the lower back.
Lie on the floor on your back, bend your knees and place your feet on the floor. Tilt your pelvis, pressing your lower back toward the floor. Imagine that you are pulling your pubic bone towards your navel – this thought will help you understand what movement to make.
When performed correctly, the buttocks will rise slightly above the surface, and the gap between the lower back and the floor will completely disappear. Count to yourself to five, relax and repeat 2-4 more times.
2. Child’s pose
This exercise stretches the muscles of the shoulders and back, helps you relax and relieve tension.
Get on all fours, then push your pelvis back, lie with your stomach on your knees and stretch your arms forward. Place your forehead on the mat and relax. Feel how your spine is stretched.
If you want to increase the stretch in your shoulders, move your knees slightly apart, as in the photo, and stretch your chest towards the floor. Spend 30 seconds in the pose.
3. Bend forward
The exercise relieves tension from the back, stretches the back of the thigh and buttocks.
Stand up straight with your feet together. Lean forward, keeping your lower back neutral. As soon as it starts to round, stop.
Depending on how low you bend, place your hands on the floor on either side of your legs, placing them on top of your feet or shins. If there is a strong pull under your knees, you can bend them slightly.
Hold in position for 30 seconds.
4. “Cat-cow”
This exercise stretches the back muscles and increases the mobility of the spine.
Get on all fours. Inhale, round your back like a scared cat, tuck your chin to your chest, and use your hands to push the floor away from you. Then exhale and arch your back, turning your shoulders outward. Try to bend more in the thoracic spine – feel the space between the shoulder blades. Alternate positions for 30 seconds.
5. Opening the chest
The exercise stretches the pectoral muscles and front deltoids, which are often shortened and tight in people with a hunched back and forward shoulders.
Stand up straight, draw your knees in, tighten your abs and tilt your pelvis back – pull your pubic bone towards your navel. Straighten and lower your shoulders, bring your hands behind your back and clasp your fingers.
Smoothly and carefully raise your arms straight behind your back until you feel discomfort. Do not do it through pain, so as not to get injured. Hold the position for 1-2 seconds, lower your arms back and repeat five more times.
6. High bar
This movement will strengthen the core muscles, which are responsible for maintaining good posture and balance.
Stand in a lying position, place your wrists under your shoulders, extend your body in one line from the top of your head to your heels. Suck your abs in and squeeze your glutes to keep your lower back neutral. Direct your gaze to the floor in front of you.
Hold the plank for 30 seconds. If your wrists hurt, lower your forearms to the floor and do elbow planks.
7. Side plank
This exercise perfectly loads the rectus and oblique abdominal muscles and pumps up the back. If you have scoliosis, try doing a side plank on only one side – this will helps reduce curvature.
Lie on your side with your legs on top of each other and your wrist next to your shoulder. Lift your pelvis off the floor and extend your body in one line from your feet to the top of your head. Stretch your other arm up, direct your gaze to the wall in front of you.
Make sure that your entire body is in the same plane, without tilting your shoulders forward or pulling your pelvis back. Tighten your abs and buttocks, do not let your pelvis sink to the floor.
Spend 30–60 seconds in the pose. If you have scoliosis and your right shoulder is higher, do the side plank only on your right arm. If there is no curvature, perform the movement on both sides.
8. Downward facing dog
The exercise relieves the back, stretches the muscles on the back of the thigh and shoulders.
Stand in a prone position, place your wrists shoulder-width apart and press your palms to the floor. Push your pelvis up and straighten your back from your tailbone to your neck.
Keep your lower back neutral; if it rounds, bend your knees slightly and lift your heels off the floor. Try to bend in the thoracic spine, turn your shoulders to the sides, without lifting your palms from the floor.
Spend 30–60 seconds in the pose.
9. Table Pose
This exercise stretches the pectoral muscles and the front of the shoulders, strengthens the buttocks and the back of the thighs.
Sit on the floor, place your arms behind your body, bend your knees. Raise your pelvis so that your body is in a straight line from your shoulders to your knees. Don’t throw your head back, look at the ceiling. Hold the position for 30 seconds, squeezing your buttocks to prevent your pelvis from sinking.
10. Pigeon pose
This movement opens the hips and stretches the iliopsoas muscles, which are often shortened in those who spend a lot of time sitting.
Get on all fours, bend one knee and bring it forward. Place your thigh on the floor between your hands and straighten your other leg back. Rotate your pelvis so that both bones face forward. Inhale, stretch your back up, straighten your shoulders and look at the ceiling.
If in this pose the front thigh comes off the floor, place a blanket folded several times under it.
Then, with your back straight, lean forward, place your stomach on your thigh and lower your forehead to the mat. You can place a block or folded blanket under your head to make it more comfortable.
Hold this position for 30 seconds and repeat on the other leg.
11. Rotation of the thoracic spine
In the analysis of scientific works A 2019 study on the influence of the thoracic spine on neck pain suggested that poor posture when working at a computer may cause upper back stiffness.
This, in turn, increases thoracic kyphosis (stooping), forces the neck to stretch forward and can result in problems with the cervical spine. Thoracic mobility exercises can help restore flexibility to your back and prevent pain.
Lie on the floor on your left side, bend your right leg at the knee and place it on some elevation, for example, on a folded blanket. Stretch your arms in front of your body and bring them together.
Raise your right arm up and turn your chest towards the ceiling. Aim to place your right hand on the floor to the right of your body, but do not change the position of your hips. Your knee should not leave the blanket throughout the entire exercise.
Perform 5 slow, controlled movements on each side.
12. Gluteal bridge and scapular lift
This exercise strengthens the gluteal muscles and hips, as well as stretches the chest and pumps the back.
Lie on the floor, bend your knees and place your feet on the floor. Spread your arms to the sides, bend your elbows and point your hands toward the ceiling. Lift your pelvis off the floor, squeezing your buttocks as hard as you can. Raise your hips as high as you can, hold for a second and return to the floor.
Then, leaning on your elbows, lift your chest toward the ceiling, arching your chest. Freeze in the pose for a couple of seconds and lower yourself to the floor. Repeat a bunch of movements for 30 seconds.
13. “Bird-Dog”
The exercise strengthens the muscles of the back and buttocks, and improves the sense of balance.
Get on all fours and simultaneously raise your right leg and left arm. Try to keep your body as level as if all four limbs were on the floor.
Hold the position for a second, squeezing your buttocks, then return to the starting position and repeat on the other side. Perform for 30 seconds, alternating sides every other time.
14. Raising arms with abdominal rows
The movement pumps up the back muscles, the strength of which determines your ability to maintain an upright position and not slouch.
Lie on your stomach, stretch your arms forward, straighten your legs. Lift your chest off the floor, trying to lift your body as high as possible, and then bend your elbows and pull them back, as if you were pulling a heavy object towards your face. It is important not to just bend your arms, but to pull them towards you with effort and at the same time not lower your chest to the floor.
Hold the extreme position for a couple of seconds without releasing the tension in your back muscles, and then stretch your arms forward and repeat again. Work for 30 seconds.
15. Deep lunge on one knee
This movement stretches the hip flexors.
Take a deep lunge forward with your right leg, lowering your left knee to the floor. Push your pelvis forward, increasing the stretch, straighten your back and straighten your shoulders. You can rock back and forth a little to deepen the stretch, but do it smoothly.
Hold the pose for 30 seconds and repeat on the other leg.
How to do posture exercises
In order for your posture to change for the better, your body must get used to the new position. And this requires regular exercise. Exercise daily and even several times a day. For example, you can do the complex in the morning as exercise, and then repeat it in the evening after a working day.
If you sit a lot during the day, get up every 45-60 minutes and do a short stretch.
After a few weeks of regular exercise, you will no longer suffer from pain in the lower back and neck, and you will more often notice that you are slouching or standing with a strong arch in your lower back. Make these posture exercises a part of your life and your body will begin to change for the better.
Watch your posture 👀